After 17%-20% electric rate hikes announced, anger rains down on NJBPU, grid operator

Press of Atlantic City

By Michelle Brunetti

The regional grid operator PJM Interconnection and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities took heavy criticism Thursday, after an announcement that home electricity rates will go up an average of $25 a month statewide starting in June.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, called on board members at the BPU to resign, saying they have focused on pushing offshore wind rather than protecting ratepayers.

“The NJBPU has failed the people of New Jersey,” Van Drew said. “For years, they knew these rate hikes were coming, yet instead of working to protect consumers, they wasted time pushing their Green New Deal agenda.”

The new increases follow last year’s rate increases of about 20%.

According to the BPU, Atlantic City Electric customers will see a 17% increase in their electric bills starting in June because of the results of a recent power auction. It will increase the average bill by about $28 per month. Customers of the three other electricity distribution companies in the state — JCP&L, PSE&G and Rockland Electric — will see similar increases.

Atlantic City Electric is also asking the BPU for an additional 8% increase in bills to cover its cost of distribution, but it has not yet been approved.

“We hear the concerns of our customers, understand the impacts of bill fluctuations seen across our region last summer related to higher usage and supply rate changes,” a utility spokesperson said in a statement Wednesday, adding the utility has programs in place to help customers pay bills.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Sweeney, on the other hand, put the blame on PJM, the regional organization responsible for coordinating the movement of electricity through a 13-state grid that includes New Jersey.

Residential electricity rates for Atlantic City Electric customers will go up again in June by more than 17%, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities said Wednesday.

Sweeney said his administration would join in a Pennsylvania lawsuit against PJM, if he is elected.

“The lawsuit will target several key issues, including allegations of market manipulation, lack of transparency in pricing mechanisms, and the impact of PJM’s operations on New Jersey’s ability to meet its renewable energy targets,” Sweeney said in a statement.

In October, Gov. Phil Murphy and governors from Pennsylvania, Illinois, Maryland and Delaware called for urgent action by PJM to curb record-high electricity prices.

The New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, quoted in a news release from the BPU about the increases, also focused on the need to reform PJM and hasten its addition of new energy providers into the grid.

“There are a number of factors that led to these higher prices, but a significant driver is PJM and its failure to fix the capacity market,” said Brian Lipman, director of the rate counsel division. “While some of it is due to an anticipated increase in the demand for electricity, most of the increase is due to PJM’s failure to fix its market rules or timely interconnect new generation supply.”

The BPU’s authority is limited, Lipman said, but it “must carefully examine every state-level filing before it with an eye towards affordability.”

State Sen. Vince Polistina and Atlantic County Assembly members said ratepayers should not pay for the state’s mistakes.

“Once again, Atlantic City Electric is trying to lay the burden of failed energy solutions and misguided mandates at the feet of the ratepayer,” Polistina said Thursday in a statement. “Our focus should be on real solutions to increase the energy we produce in New Jersey, so our residents don’t have to pay more for energy created elsewhere.”

Atlantic City Council unanimously voted to repeal an ordinance that would have helped Atlantic Shores move electricity from a proposed offshore wind farm across the city.

Assemblyman Don Guardian, R-Atlantic, said he will work with the Office of Legislative Services on legislation to provide relief to ratepayers.

“Our residents can no longer afford to pay for Trenton’s failed efforts,” Guardian said.

The supply-and-demand problem is the result of years of failed state and federal policy, Van Drew said.

“New Jersey used to produce more energy than it needed, but thanks to Governor Murphy’s extreme green energy mandates, we are now in an energy deficit and forcing the ratepayers to cover the cost,” Van Drew said. “They have ignored real solutions like nuclear, solar, and natural gas while shutting down projects that could have helped like the B.L. England power plant and the South Jersey natural gas pipeline.”

Assemblywoman Claire Swift, R-Atlantic, said Atlantic City Electric customers feel trapped.

“Pay what Atlantic City Electric charges or be in the dark,” Swift said. “That is unacceptable, and we must do something about this.”